Assessing Transplant Attitudes: Understanding Minority Men’s Perspectives on the Multifarious Barriers to Organ Donation

• Published in: Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2017-08, Vol.4 (4), p.580-586
• Main Authors: Hinck, Bryan D., Naelitz, Bryan D., Jackson, Brielle, Howard, Mariah, Nowacki, Amy, Modlin, Charles S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; African Americans; African Americans - psychology; African Americans - statistics & numerical data; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Attitude to Health - ethnology; Biological organs; Blood & organ donations; Demographics; Demography; Dialysis; Donations; Donors; Epidemiology; Ethnicity; Health status; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Inequality; Kidney transplantation; Kidney Transplantation - statistics & numerical data; Kidney transplants; Living donors; Male; Medical history; Medical waiting lists; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Men; Mental health; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority groups; Minority Groups - psychology; Minority Groups - statistics & numerical data; Misconceptions; Organ donation; Organ donors; Organ transplantation; Outreach programs; Pacific Islander people; Perceptions; Polls & surveys; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Quality of Life Research; Questionnaires; Race; Racial differences; Racism; Social Inequality; Social Structure; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tissue and Organ Procurement - statistics & numerical data; Transplantation; Transplantation - psychology; Transplants; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2197-3792; 2196-8837
• DOI: 10.1007/s40615-016-0260-x

African Americans comprise 11 % of living organ donors, yet constitute 34 % of the kidney transplant waiting list. There are many barriers to organ donation among minorities that include decreased awareness of transplantation, cultural mistrust of the medical community, financial concerns, and fear of the transplant operation. This study investigates the societal misconceptions and demographic health factors that correlate with minority participation in organ and tissue donation. A 57 question Health and Wellness survey was designed to assess participants’ demographic information, medical history, professional background, and opinions regarding organ transplantation. Participants were also asked to complete Quality Metric’s Short Form-8 (SF-8) survey to assess physical health, mental health, and quality-of-life. Three hundred twenty-six surveys were administered to minority men. The majority of men were identified as African American, and 55 % were below the age of 40. Though 44 % of participants were willing to donate, only 27 % were registered as organ and tissue donors. Minorities who held misconceptions about organ donation—including the belief that they were too old or unhealthy to donate, for example—had lower general, physical, and mental health scores than those who did not (p =